It’s been like an actual baby, nine months in the working,” says Raksha Sriram, a performance artist and the creative director of ‘The Chakras — Journey To Consciousness’. The dance, music and theatre extravaganza is an artistic interpretation of the seven chakra system of spiritual energy.
The idea came to Raksha while she was exploring the concepts of meditation and mindfulness. “It struck a chord with me, there was a lot of emotion and expressiveness attached to the chakras and I wanted to share it with others,’’ she says.
Using her background in the performing arts, she began putting together a show that would allow others to partake in her experience.
Finding a suitable medium and collaborators who shared her vision was the first step in the journey towards the final showcase. She was clear about having no elements of religion and didn’t want to lean back on the usual archetypes. The main priority was to create something that had a global appeal and was accessible to a large number of people.
“We looked for people with varying skill sets. The show features dancers whose background ranges from ballet to martial arts,” says Raksha. Divya Raghuram, the woman behind the production and stage direction chimes in regarding the music on the show, “We have Kannada, Tamil, Farsi and even Ukranian music woven into the show.” Blending all these different forms to make a harmonious show was a challenge.
“We’re excited to have it all fall into place and have a show that brings out the essence of the chakras”, says Raksha.
“Even though I’m based in the UK, I knew I wanted to have the premiere of the show in Bengaluru. This city is my home. In fact, all the performers have a strong connection to the city,” she says.
The show, of which they hope there will be many, starts on October 12, at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall.